HHS Designation ofAdditional Members ofthe 


Special Exposure Cohort 


underthe 


Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of2000 


Designating a Class ofEmployees 


Pantex Plant 


Amarillo, Texas 


HHS Special Exposure Cohort Designation: 

P1U1tex Plant, Amarillo, Texas 
Date Sif}ia M. Burwell 

JI. Employee Class Definition 

All employees of the Department of Energy, its predecessor agencies, and their 

contractors and subcontractors who worked at the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, 

during the period from January 1, 1951, through December 31, 1957, for a number of 

work days aggregating at least 250 work days, occurring either solely under this 

employment or in combination with work days within the parameters established for 

one or more other classes ofemployees in the Special Exposure Cohort. 

III. Designation Criteria and Recommendations 

Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 7384q, for the class defined in Section II of this report, the Secretary has 

determined that 

(I) it is not feasible to estimate with sufficient accuracy the radiation dose that the class received; 

and 

(2) there is a reasonable likelihood that such radiation dose may have endangered the health of 

members of the class. 

The SEC final rule states in 42 C.F.R. § 83.13(c)(I) that it is feasible in two situations to estimate the 

radiation dose that the class received with sufficient accuracy. First, the rule states that radiation 

doses may be estimated with sufficient accuracy if the National Institute for Occupational Safety and 

Health (NIOSH) has established that it has access to sufficient infonnation to estimate the maximum 

radiation dose, for every type of cancer for which radiation doses are reconstructed, that could have 

been incurred under plausible circumstances by any member of the class. Alternatively, radiation 

doses may be estimated with sufficient accuracy if NIOSH has established that it has access to 

sufficient infonnation to estimate the radiation doses of members of the class more precisely than a 

maximum dose estimate. 

NIOSH received SEC petition 00068 representing certain workers at the Pantex Plant (Pantex) in 

Amarillo, Texas, for the period from January I, 1951, through December 31, 1991. Based on its 

evaluation, NIOSH initially concluded that it could complete dose reconstructions with sufficient 

accuracy for Pantex workers during the entire time period. However, after extensive reviews by and 

discussions with the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health (the Board), the Board 

recommended, and the NIOSH Director concurred, that SEC classes should be added for workers 

who were employed at Pantex during the time period from January 1, 1958, through December 31, 

1991. The Board and NIOSH further concluded that dose reconstruction was feasible for workers 

during the years 1951 through 1957. 

HHS SpcciQl Exposure Cohon DesignQlion: Page 2 

Puntex PIQnt, AmQrillo, Texas 
Following recommendations from the Board and NIOSH, the Secretary designated two SEC classes 

covering the time periods from January l, 1958, through December 31, 1991, and denied adding an 

SEC class for the time period from January I, 1951, through December 31, 1957. The petitioner was 

notified of the Secretary's final decision and filed a request for an HHS administrative review of this 

denial. Subsequently, a panel ofthree HHS personnel (Panel), independent ofNIOSH, was appointed 

to conduct an administrative review. The Office ofthe Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH) 

administered this Panel on behalf of the Secretary. 

Based on its review, the Panel concluded that with respect to internal exposures to uranium, certain 

data and facts regarding the history ofearly operations at Pantex do not exist, or substantially 

conflicting in the administrative record. Accordingly, this insufficiency in the record did not permit 

the Panel to confirm the factual accuracy of the information supporting the final decision or the 

principal findings and recommendations ofNJOSH and those of the Board. Thus, the Panel 

recommended that the Secretary revise the previous determination to deny SEC status to this class of 

Pantex employees. In a memorandum to OASH dated October 24, 2016, the DirectorofNIOSH 

agreed to provide a new designation to the Secretary that comports with the Panel's recommendation 

as set out in their final report. 

IV. Designation Findings 

Infeasibility of Estimating Radiation Doses with Sufficient Accuracy 

The Secretary designates the class ofemployees covered by this report based upon the findings 

summarized below. 

• 	 NIOSH determined that members of this class may have received internal and external radiation 

exposure to alpha particles and gamma and beta radiation associated with uranium. 

• 	 In light of the Panel's review, NIOSH does not have sufficient information, which includes 

specific biological monitoring data, air monitoring information, and process and radiological 

source information to estimate the total internal dose from exposures to uranium for all 

radiological workers who worked at Pantex for the period from January 1, 1951, through 

December 31, 1957. Therefore, it is not feasible to reconstruct internal doses with sufficient 

accuracy. 

• 	 NIOSH, however, concluded that it has access to sufficient personnel and workplace monitoring 

data to reconstruct external doses, including medical x-ray dose, with sufficient accuracy for 

Pantex workers for the period January I, 1951, through December 31, 1957. The Panel also 

agreed that external dose reconstruction is feasible for the evaluated time period. 

• 	 Although it is not possible to reconstruct internal radiation dose for the proposed class, NIOSH 

intends to use any monitoring data that may become available for an individual claim (and that 

can be interpreted using existing NIOSH dose reconstruction processes or procedures). 

Therefore, dose reconstructions for individuals employed at Pantex from January I, 1951, 

through December 31, 1957, but who do not qualify for inclusion in the SEC, may be performed 

using these data as appropriate. 

• 	 Based on the foregoing, there is insufficient information to either: (I) estimate the maximum 

radiation dose, for every type ofcancer for which radiation doses are reconstructed, that could 

HHS Special Exposure Cohort Designalion: 

Pantcx Planl, Amarillo, Texas 
have been incurred under plausible circumstances by any member of the class; or (2) estimate the 

radiation doses ofmembers ofthe class more precisely than a maximum dose estimate. 

Health Endangerment 

The Secretary established the health endangerment determination for the class ofemployees covered 

by this report based upon the findings summarized below. 

(1) 	 Pursuant to 42 C.F.R. § 83.13(c)(3), NIOSH has determined, and OASH concurs, that there is 

a reasonable likelihood that such radiation doses may have endangered the health of members 

of the class. Pursuant to 42 C.F.R. § 83.13(c)(3)(ii), NIOSH has specified a minimum 

duration of employment to satisfy this health endangerment criterion as "having been 

employed for a number of work days aggregating at least 250 work days within the parameters 

established for this class or in combination with work days within the parameters established 

for one or more other classes of employees in the Cohort." 

(2) 	 NIOSH has determined, and OASH concurs, that members ofthe class were not exposed to 

radiation during a discrete incident likely to have involved exceptionally high-level exposures, 

such as a nuclear criticality incident, as defined under 42 C.F.R. § 83.13(c)(3)(i). 

(3) 	 The health ofthe class may have been endangered and the class is defined in accordance with 

the 250-work day requirement specified under 42 C.F.R. § 83. 13(c)(3)(ii). 

V. 	 Effect and Effective Date of Designation 

The Secretary submits this report on the designation of one additional class to the SEC for review by 

Congress, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 7384/(14)(C)(ii), as amended by the Ronald W. Reagan National 

Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005, Pub. L. No. 108-375 (codified as amended in 

scattered sections of42 U.S.C.). Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 7384/(14)(C)(ii}, as amended by the Ronald 

W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005, Pub. L. No. 108-375 (codified 

as amended in scattered sections of42 U.S.C.), the designation in this report will become effective 30 

days after the date ofthis report's submission to Congress "unless Congress otherwise provides." 

VI. 	 Administrative Review ofDesignation 

The health endangerment determination ofthe designation provided in this report may be subject to 

an administrative review within HHS, pursuant to 42 C.F.R. § 83. I 8(a). On the basis ofsuch a 

review, if the Secretary decides to expand the class ofemployees covered by this designation, the 

Secretary would transmit a supplementary report to Congress providing the expanded employee class 

definition and the criteria and findings on which the decision was based. 

HHS Special Exposure Cohort Designation: 

Pantex Plant, Amarillo, Texas